


Glitch

by Dark_Mage_of_Ylisse



Series: Dark Mage's Short Stories [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Eventual Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe), F/F, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Inspired by Disney, Inspired by a Movie, Loss of Control, Redeemed Aquamarine, Running Away, The Writer May Have An Unhealthy Obsession With Hurting Doritos, come and read this! it will totally not break your heart into small pieces while I watch for fun!, running out of time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-02-02 00:15:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12715842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Mage_of_Ylisse/pseuds/Dark_Mage_of_Ylisse
Summary: Dear Diary, Lapis here. Peridot did something... Odd today. We were working on our Meep-Morp, just nice and peaceful, when she freaked out! She started twitching, her eyes were all bright green, and her teeth looked just like fangs! She destroyed the supplies we were working with and snarled at me! Then... She acted like nothing happened, like she couldn't remember....Diary, I think something's wrong with Peridot.





	1. 94%

The air of the hand ship crackled with electricity. A green Gem, a peridot, typed in a code to a cell. Her floating fingers by her side as she watched the prisoner.

A lapis lazuli that had been found entering Homeworld’s atmosphere. Unmarked and sobbing as she looked at the buildings. Apparently this blue Gem had been left on Earth. She certainly wasn’t an Era 2 Gem, she had real powers and had been frightened of Peridot’s limb enhancers.

“Please, I told Jasper everything I know! I don’t have any more information!” The blue Gem cried, but Peridot felt no sympathy for her.

She charged her weapon, a small bolt of energy crackling around it. “I don’t believe you. Tell me what you know about the Crystal Gems. Or else.”

Lapis quivered where she sat. “I barely know anything about them! They just want to protect Earth, that’s it.” Large tears rolled down her pale blue cheeks. “They… They have someone with them, he’s… He’s good. A good person… THE OPPOSITE OF YOU!”

Peridot woke with a start, shaking on her pillow-turned-bed. Nightmares… That’s what Steven called them, dreams that went bad. _‘I was so horrible…’_   She thought to herself, and choked back a sob.

It felt so real, she could still feel the weight of her limb enhancers, feel the hot air of the hand ship, hear Lapis’ cries for mercy…

The blonde Gem lifted her visor, and wiped away tears. She glanced at the chart Steven had made so long ago, it measured her behavior, the line going up meant good, down meant bad.

She wanted to be good. A good person.

Slowly, she walked up to the hammock in the corner where her Barn Mate slept. Blue hair fluffy and unkempt, snoring softly with her arm hanging out of the hammock. Pumpkin sat in a nest of blankets a little ways away.

“L-Lapis…?” Peridot murmured. She tapped the Ocean Gem on the shoulder, causing her to groan. “Lapis, please wake up?”

“Mmm….” She opened her eyes after a moment. “What’s wrong Peridot?” She asked, the technician was a rather good sleeper. She’d never had a nightmare before, usually that was Lapis.

It was then that the taller Gem saw the stray tears on Peridot’s face. “Hey, what happened?” She asked, and the small Gem hugged her tightly.

“Nightmare… Back on the hand ship… I hurt you…” The blonde whispered and felt a hand stroking her hair.

“It’s okay Peridot. That’s not you anymore. You’re my best friend, and you can’t hurt me now. I was scared sure, that Peridot was bad, but you? A Crystal Gem.” Peridot felt Lapis’ arm around her waist to return the hug. “Those ‘kitten claws’ can’t hurt anyone.”

Peridot let out a squawk. “Hey!” She felt Lapis shudder with laughter. “Not funny.”

“Very funny.” Lapis said through laughter. “Okay, okay, we need to be quiet. Don’t wanna wake the others.” She said quietly, because right outside the Barn was Topaz and Aquamarine. The two were staying on Earth, away from Homeworld and the Diamonds. Blue and Yellow Diamond hadn’t been happy with them for not only bringing 'Rose Quartz’, who had made a trial go to utter hell, but had failed to bring any humans at all. (Well, they brought one, but he escaped. And then according to Steven turned pink. They didn’t ask.)

Safe to say, Aquamarine’s ego had been brought down a few pegs. Her and Lapis still had a few issues, always trying to one-up each other in flight.

Topaz was standing rigid outside, deep in sleep. Aquamarine curled up on the top of her head snoring (apparently snoring was a Blue Gem trait). The tiny Gem was terrified of certain Earth creatures, like snakes.

“Hey Peri? Wanna see something cool?” Lapis asked, and the green Gem looked up.

“What is it?” She asked. Lapis got up from her hammock and stretched. “Lap- oh!” The technician squealed as Lapis scooped her up.

“C'mon Peri, you said you wanted to see it. Can’t see it from on the ground!” Lapis said cheerfully, and Peridot clung to her. The now winged Gem flew into the air, holding Peridot tightly with the little Gem’s head at her shoulder to see the cloudy night sky.

“Lapis, please don’t drop me!” The green technician shouted to her best friend as Lapis flew through the clouds. She stopped a bit suddenly, Peridot shaken but relatively excited now.

It had been ages since she had the ability to fly, she hadn’t realized how much she missed being in the up in the sky looking down at a tiny world below. It was nothing compared to this, her old flight had been slow and she couldn’t always support herself. Lapis’ flight was smooth, gentle, her water wings making a relaxing wooshing sound similar to the 'tide’ near Steven’s house.

Lapis had turned Peridot around and was now holding her around her waist. Peridot could feel her cheeks warm with teal blood, the heart she had managed to shapeshift (after 5 hours and a new list of words she wasn’t allowed to say around Steven) a few days ago started to beat faster, feeling like a fluttering ball in her chest.

She looked up at Lapis, who smiled warmly at her and for a brief moment tightened her arms around the younger Gem’s waist. The blonde’s heart went even faster, was something odd about it?

Oh, Lapis was giggling now, including that famous little snort that never failed to make Peridot smile. She liked Lapis, a lot. The way Steven liked Connie. She remembered the way the half Gem looked at his best friend.

Peridot wanted someone who would look at her like that. She wondered if Lapis noticed the way Peridot looked at her.

The Ocean Gem flew through the sky, through clouds both fluffy and a bit thicker, all with Peridot held safely in her embrace. Soon enough Lapis flipped over in midair before she beat her wings harder than normal, launching the two above the clouds. The air was cold and crisp as Lapis gently glided using water vapor from the clouds to keep her wings up.

The green Gem’s eyes widened seeing the half moon, and all the gorgeous stars twinkling above them. “Oh! I know those ones!” Peridot explained with a huge smile. “Humans call recognizable groups of stars 'constellations’! I of course, made my own. See that one? I think it looks like a flower.” She told the blue Gem, who nodded as Peridot slowly traced the shape out of the stars with her finger.

“What about that one?” The blunette asked. She traced out her own shape into the stars, after thinking for a second Peridot answered.

“I have to say Lapis, you’re quite good at this. It’s small, elegant, and bright. A 'snowflake’.” She firmly told the tall Gem. Lapis snorted and started to laugh, after a while of naming new constellations together, the winged Gem flew back to the Barn to rest.

The sun would be rising soon. Aquamarine and Topaz were still outside, fast asleep. Peridot smiled as her best friend laid down with her, for the nerd often did the same for her if she had nightmares. “Hey Peri? Nothing is gonna split us up. I promise. You don’t hurt me, I don’t hate you. I never could, and you never could. You’re my best friend.” Peridot’s heart fluttered again, she liked the feeling.

Just before drifting off again she thought to herself _'I am a good Gem.’_


	2. 81%

Aquamarine’s tiny water wings fluttered rapidly as Lapis watched her grab a bright red frisbee off of the Barn roof. Steven had provided them all with things they could play with and enjoy. Aquamarine had a frisbee she and Topaz threw around to catch, Peridot had some strange multicolored cube that Steven told her to ‘solve’ and Lapis had a ball made to be squeezed.

 

It had been a few months since the bluenette had chosen to shapeshift organs, they felt odd but funny when she flew, her heartbeat fascinated her, and having a stomach felt odd. Lapis would never admit to the fact that she had shapeshifted most of those organs to drink juice boxes. She believed it was her decision that had made Peridot so determined to have her own little heart, which beat quickly and could be felt in her wrists and neck (although she wouldn’t let Lapis touch her neck, not after making the blonde cry from laughing due to being so ticklish), it was cute.

  
Peridot was cute.

 

“Uh, hello? Lapis!” Aquamarine snapped her finger. Lapis looked down at her, smile gone and eyebrow raised. “You’re supposed to be getting ready, don’t you remember?! Our little competition? I swear, all you terraformers got so lazy after-” She closed her mouth, it was true the small Gem was working on getting out of her mindset about what Homeworld thought of Gems, but she had also realized that Lapis had no tolerance for being insulted, and could be very quick to anger. “I’m… Sorry.”

 

Lapis just nodded, remembering the other lapis lazulis she had seen on Homeworld in her brief time there before getting shoved into an interrogation cell. They sat or laid on the tops of buildings, no colonies to terraform, no jobs to do, no orders. They wasted away listlessly and did nothing all day while Blue Diamond mourned endlessly. Once good Gems, her sisters, useful and prided upon were nothing more than pretty things to look at and think 'oh what a shame, such lovely Gems have gone to waste!’

 

She hated Homeworld and everything it stood for. The Ocean Gem walked over to where Peridot was tinkering with a broken TV. A few days ago Lapis and Aquamarine had decided to have a friendly competition between them: Who made a better team? Aquapaz or Lapidot? (Oh her cheeks warmed at that word, their names fused together like that) 

 

“Hi Lapis!” Peridot spoke up from where she was seated, scraps of metal floated around her as she gently removed wires from the device. “Is Topaz back yet? I’m almost ready to start building things with you!” There was a wonderful little smile on her face, a welcome change from her tears last night. Lapis knew the shorter of the two loved building and making things, and this has been her idea in order to stop Aquamarine and Lapis from trying to fly so fast as to create a sonic boom.

 

There was a soft swishing sound in the distance, Aquamarine must have flown away to go and find Topaz. “Uh… There she goes. Guess we have a head-start right Peri?” She looked at her companion, who nodded and handed her a bottle with clear liquid inside, the label read: 'glue’. “What’s this stuff again?”  
  


“An adhesive substance used to make sure two or more objects stay together. You can start on our Meep-morp if you want, I need to rest a little bit.” She explained, and sat in the grass watching the pieces of scrap metal float gently around her as if she were a sun and they were simply little planets hoping to be given life from her warmth and light.

 

Apparently Lapis read too many romance novels, whatever.

 

With Topaz and Aquamarine still gone she got to work, attaching small bits of colored glasses to strings, and then to wood. She smiled, this was soothing and just… Something she loved. Red, orange, no yellow, lots of green and blue, and purple on the string that she was working with now. Lapis snickered to herself, she had the feeling Pearl would like the purple string. Her grin/smirk faded though, as she didn’t have the piece of wood to attach her finished piece to. “Hey Peridot? You see the wood pile near you? Can you get me one of the small pieces, please?”  
  


Without a word, the green Gem stood and turned around, there was the sound of her footsteps in the grass for only a second before dead silence, maybe she saw a butterfly or something, Peridot likes them a lot. Something about… Changing. Lapis couldn’t remember. There were a few soft thumps, the metal Peridot held with her powers must have been dropped the ground, the Ocean Gem turned to look at her.

 

“Peri?” She asked softly. Her best friend was twitching and holding her head in her hands, her back turned to Lapis. “Peridot…?”

 

A deep growl sounded from Peridot’s throat, a sound Lapis had never heard her make before. The technician turned around and Lapis’ heart squirmed as her eyes widened.

 

Peridot’s eyes glowed a brilliant green, her pupils along with the whites of her eyes no longer visible. Her lips curled back into a snarl, her sharp teeth, no… _Fangs_ visible as she snarled at her.

 

“P-peridot?!” Lapis called her name, and the younger one leaped forward and grabbed a piece of wood with her teeth, clawing at it as she bit down and snapped it in half. “Peridot stop it! This isn’t like you at all!”

 

Peridot lunged at the pillow she had brought outside and ripped at open, spraying feathers everywhere. Lapis backed away in fear as the crazed Gem growled and screeched with rage, slicing cloth with her nails and ripping anything that got in her way to pieces.

 

Pumpkin hid behind the blue Gem, whimpering in fear. Peridot screamed and howled as she scratched up all the wood the two had gathered before… Falling back to sit on her butt with a thump.

 

The tiny Gem clutched her head, and groaned softly. “Ow… My head… Lapis? What happened to all our things?” She asked, and the bluenette stared at her. How could she do that and then act like she didn’t remember? They had worked for days to gather all the wood, and in not even 5 minutes Peridot had all but made it into splinters!

  
“What do you mean 'what happened’?! Peridot you did this!” Lapis was in full disbelief, how could Peridot do something like that and then act like she had no clue what was going on?! Why would she do something like this? “Did I say something that upset you? Is that what this is about? If you didn’t want to get anything for me and keep resting you could’ve just said so.”

  
Upon seeing Lapis’ frown shook her head. “No, you didn’t make me mad, I swear! I just… It… It felt… I mean I saw something-” She was cut off seeing Pumpkin, who was huddled near Lapis’ feet and shaking. The green Gem’s breath hitched. “Did… Did I hurt you Pumpkin?”

 

The sentient veggie slowly made her way over to Peridot, the blonde now on her knees as she held her arms out. “I’m sorry if I did something and scared you, I don’t know what happened but… I promise I won’t do it again.” She hugged Pumpkin as she got close, Lapis soon joining her.

 

The blue Gem was upset yes, but Peridot did seem sorry. Maybe she had been doing that for a joke, or was just too stressed out and throwing a tantrum. The blonde’s eyes had an odd far away look, what had she been talking about earlier with 'saw something’?

 

“Hey uh, Peri? Maybe you… M-maybe you need some real rest. C-c'mon.” She took her companions hand and led her into the Barn. Peridot was complaining of a nasty headache, and apparently felt dizzy, so the Ocean Gem picked her up and laid her in the hammock. She had destroyed the pillow she used as a bed.

  
“Lapis… I don’t know what I did, but whatever happened, I’m sorry.” She said softly. The bluenette nodded and began to gently rock the hammock to lull the little Gem to sleep.

  
“It’ll be okay Peridot, we all do things we regret. Remember when I took Amethyst’s dare to eat 6 hot dogs?”

 

The blonde gave a soft chuckle. “Your stomach was so upset. You laid in my lap for two days.” She said with a smile and yawned. After a few minutes of being rocked slowly and gently Peridot drifted off to sleep.

 

Pumpkin laid under the hammock, the orange creature was protective over them, and it was obvious that Peridot was upset from that. Lapis still had no idea why she’d acted like that, but she supposed since Peridot promised it wouldn’t happen again, it wouldn’t.

  
She took off through the air, flying quickly towards the city, towards the docks. The sun was sinking low in the sky, casting everything in an orange fiery glow, Lapis liked sunrise much better. She landed near the docks and walked down to the edge, there were plenty of birds flying around, with Aquamarine chasing them. If there were any creatures the tiny Gem liked it was birds, Lapis liked them too though, especially their little eggs and wings.

 

The ex-terraformer sat down on the edge of the dock, her bare feet dangling over the edge as the water swished around, the gem on her back sending a thrill up her spine when she lifted a single finger and a little drop floated up, then back down with a plop. Topaz was seated beside her, watching the birds. The large fusion had definitely chosen to stay fused, and was happy with herself. She liked Earth, and was more than excited for a change of pace from Homeworld.

 

“Hey Topaz…”

 

Lapis sighed, and the taller one beside her glanced at her, a bit concerned. “Lapis? Is everything okay?” She asked, and the smaller Gem took a deep shuddering breath… Those brilliant green eyes glowing eerily, just how vicious Peridot had been, those snarls Lapis had never heard before, and she had never realized just how sharp Peridot’s teeth were…

 

“Yeah it’s…” She started to lie, but she couldn’t do that. Not to her friend (friends? Hard to tell with a fusion). Why bother lying anyway? They’d see the destruction when they got to the Barn after all, and if Lapis cleaned up the mess they would still notice Peridot sleeping in the hammock instead of her feather-filled pillow. She shook her head. “Not really. It’s Peri. We were just working and she _just_ … Went _nuts_.” She managed to force out, she didn’t want to try thinking about any reason Peridot could have snapped on her.

 

The bluenette looked down at her hands, then to the water. She hoped Peridot was still sleeping, she _really_ hoped she was nice and fast asleep in that hammock having sweet dreams instead of the nightmare she’d had last night. Lapis didn’t want to have to talk about her best friend this way, as if she were some kind of animal. “She growled at me, scratched up the wood we gathered, and now she’s acting like she doesn’t know what happened!”

 

She tried so hard to not be angry with the little Gem, but she couldn’t help it. Emotions were a hard thing to master, and hers had just been exercised a little too much, calm happiness, then panic, the complete and utter terror, and then… Anger. Lapis didn’t like being angry, and she certainly didn’t want to take it out on Peridot. Even if having all their hard work destroyed was frustrating, she had learned that letting her anger bubble up and boil over to hurt others wasn’t okay.

 

If they ever fixed Jasper, Lapis vowed to be the first person to make that huge quartz laugh, or at the very least smile. She deserved it, even if she was a bit terrifying for a non-combatant Gem to be around.

 

Lapis watched Topaz’s bright eyes widen, she knew exactly what the large fusion was thinking. _'Peridot is too sweet to do something like this.’_

 

“Did you say something to her before it happened?” Topaz was smart, always trying to see things from other peoples point of view, but Lapis shook her head again.

 

“No, I mean, I asked her to get the wood from the pile. And she started twitching before she went off on me. You should have seen it, she was like an animal!” Her deep blue eyes were wide at the horrifying memories. Topaz started to pat her shoulder with a large hand very gently, trying to calm her down.

 

“Maybe she’s just stressed out. Steven said she’s been 100% good since the 'Cluster'… Whatever that is. She’ll be okay Lapis, she’s tough. Maybe she just needs rest, and she’ll be okay tomorrow.” Lapis smiled ever so slightly, and nodded in an attempt for optimism. Maybe the green nerd _was_ just stressed, she had a horrible tendency to want to help others so much she would often risk burning herself out or just straight up ignoring her own needs. Lapis had caught her crying once, the reason? She just wanted a hug, and to hear that someone cared about her.

 

Peridot just wanted to know that to someone, she was special. She had never told Lapis what things she had seen on Homeworld, and Lapis never pried for info. Sometimes memories were just too painful to remember, but the pain they caused was still there.

 

“Yeah.” Lapis murmured softly as the sun fully set, leaving the Ocean Gem completely in the dark. “Peridot will be okay.”


	3. 80%

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please for the love of god watch Lilo and Stitch 2, it makes this scene even better.

Peridot’s pale teal eyes opened, she really liked her eye color. Peridot’s were supposed to have green eyes, that was how they were made. It was the one of the few changes from the base template Gem, the one made in a laboratory and scanned in order to set the minimum for others.

 

Things that stayed? Body shape, voice, hair color, motivation. Things that could change? Outfit, shape of hair, limb enhancers (she shuddered, her nightmare still fresh in her mind), and of course, eye color. Peridot would especially know these things as the one Peridot with blue eyes… She was the base template. The very first Peridot to exist.

The tiny blonde didn’t know necessarily _how_ she knew she was the first Peridot, she just… Did. Like an instinct, it was crystal (excuse the pun) clear to her that she was the start of that Gem cut. She had never told her friends that, not even Lapis knew it, although she was proud enough to hint at it to others.

 

 _‘I’m smarter than the average peridot!’_ She had boasted, and Peridot would have to admit that a lot of her ego had come from the fact that this was true. The others had been dumbed down ever so slightly, no will to rebel or ever do anything differently. Most didn’t even know they could do more with their limb enhancers, like fly or shoot blasts of energy or… Be anything more than a tool for Yellow Diamond.

 

The small technician felt awful about today, she didn’t know what happened either. One moment she had been heading to the wood pile to get Lapis something, the next? Her head pounded, the gem on her forehead aching, and she couldn’t control her own movements. Her vision had faded, she’d blacked out… She had seen something though, heard something spoken to her for just a flash, a memory, but she didn’t remember it. Until now.

 

It had been thousands of years ago, Homeworld had lost the Earth War, and a Diamond to boot. Yellow’s pride had been damaged by the Crystal Gems, and their leader, the horrendous and terrifying Rose Quartz, along with that damned renegade Pearl. So many Gems had rebelled, they needed other Gems to take more jobs. Topaz’s now watched over new Gems created in labs, if that Gem was too flawed or deemed useless, a Topaz was to… “Handle it”…

 

Safe to say it, Homeworld’s golden era had withered away.

 

Agate’s of all kinds, but especially for Yellow Diamond, were to help not only to frighten others, but to make some terrifying new creations. An agate terrifys one way or another. One such Agate in charge of an experiment was Moss Agate. Tall, intimidating, strong, and cruel with the short hooked whip she summoned from the dark green gem on her right cheek.

 

When Peridot had blacked out, she had seen this Gem… Watching her. Moss Agate… Peridot’s creator. _“Hello little one… Your name is Peridot…”_

A laboratory, dark with brilliant green lights, huge with screens all along the walls. Wires ran up to a large metal… Thing, shaped like a dome with a glass case on top, shaped like the bottom half of a test tube. Inside was a little glowing ball with a green speck in the center that glittered. 

 

“Yes! Finally!” Moss had cried with delight. This laboratory had been hard to get into, it was to be used for attempts to make new quartzes, powerful and deadly, strong and durable, not to mention could be incredibly aggressive. 

 

This experiment was illegal. A tiny technician being formed with the excess energy that Homeworld kept whenever a Quartz soldier burst from the ground. This little Gem needed energy if it wanted to do anything outside the glass casing it was being born in, and it was going to get a lot. It would have sharp teeth, intelligence, the strength of a Quartz and be just as hard to poof as one. 

 

_“Us Peridot’s are tougher than we look…”_

Moss laughed as her new creation started to form a body, its gem forming into a rounded upside down triangle. Soft and curvy, blonde hair fluffy in its triangular shape, lime green skin, not a single flaw on her body.

 

Physically, she was perfect for Era 2. Wide teal eyes opened up slowly as the new Gem unfurled from her curled up position, she had been coiled up like a little ball. Moss stared in wonder, she’d done it, created a life.

 

Peridot had made a gurgling sound and cooed, not yet used to… Anything. It would take a while to learn to speak, a few hours and she would be okay. A Topaz fusion stood by, her double ended spear ready in shaky hands just in case this new creature wasn’t mentally right or stable.

 

“She’s so… Tiny, and… Fluffy.” Moss remarked as Peridot sniffed the air and blinked up at her with large innocent eyes.

 

“WHERE DID I GO WRONG?!” Moss Agate screamed in anguish. Just then, upon hearing her creator’s distress Peridot snarled and started to try to scratch the glass with tiny but sharp nails, though the glass was too tough, she couldn’t make a scratch on it. She let out a howl and showed her teeth, her tiny body quivering from not just imitating her creator’s fury, but fear of this new big world.

 

Moss sighed with relief. “Oh thank goodness, just a delayed reaction!” She exclaimed and clapped her hands together as Peridot banged on the glass. “Oh it’s okay little one, I know, I know. You want to get out there and be the perfect Gem you are, but! We need to charge you up first!” The tall Gem walked over to where a long thick cable hung from a ceiling, a plug-in on the end that Moss plugged into the socket on the device under her new monster. 

 

“Now, let’s design something to cover that little butt of yours.” Moss said with a cheeky (again excuse the pun) grin, for Peridot had been born nude. The Topaz off to the side chuckled, Moss had promised that if Yellow found out about this illegal experiment, she would take the blame and spare the fusion. 

 

She hoped Yellow Diamond would like this Gem, it was useful, just needed to be trained. “Experiment 5XG…” She murmured, that had been the name used until now, she leaned over to look into the new Gem’s eyes as the floor of its glass case glowed pale tea with energy. “Hello little one… Your name is Peridot. Your gem has to charge now, and you’ll have an outfit. I made you, you are strong, and smart. Anyone who says otherwise is… A Clod.” She told the newborn, using an insult she personally loved, even if most other Gems didn’t like it.

 

Peridot had charged up to 95%, just a few more minutes and she would be ready. Her outfit was pure white and hugged her tightly, no frills or any unnecessary parts that could slow her down. The only marking was a yellow diamond on her chest. 

 

The door to the lab burst open. “Moss Agate, you are under arrest for illegal experimentation!” An angry looking Jasper stood at the door, the gem on its chest glowing, two Topaz soldiers flanking her. The fused one with Moss wailed in terror with the fear of the two gems on both sides of her head being broken.

 

“Wait! Wait! It’s almost done, just let me show you, it’s strong and brilliant! A new Gem, a Peridot!” Moss screamed. A Topaz with the gem on its hand grabbed the plug that was charging Peridot, who was now screeching in rage and terror.

 

The plug was pulled.

 

“WARNING! CHARGING INTERRUPTED!” The computer’s shrill voice sounded. Moss Agate was starting to be dragged off as Peridot’s glass case was ripped out of the machine, only 95% finished…

 

“Stop! Please! She’s not ready!” Moss sobbed as she was taken away from the newborn Gem. “What will become of my little monstrosity!?”


	4. 78%

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes the Chapter 'Names' are Peridot's energy level counting down to 0%.  
> Feel free to call me Satan, I love it.

Peridot took deep breaths, her small body shaking as she held Pumpkin close. “Moss Agate… S-she made me… W-why don’t I remember anything?” She asked to no one, and the veggie in her arms snuggled closer. “I was made to be a monster… I was always supposed to hurt others…” A sob wracked her, the green Gem sniffled.

She put Pumpkin down, though they quickly started trying to nuzzle her and crawl back into her lap. Peridot stood up though, her teal eyes blurry with tears. She walked over to the corner of the Barn where her pillow had once been, the chart Steven made was there, a paper with a drawing of her gem on it, filled to the top with bright lime green. Green meant good, empty space meant bad, she’d had to work hard for 100% good…

The technician took the ‘pencil crayon’ Steven had used, on the end of it was an ‘eraser’, used to wipe away the green whenever she did bad things. Peridot rubbed her eyes to get rid of the tears there. She had done something rather awful, hadn’t she? The tiny gem started to erase part of the green, a bit of the picture now had white in it, and the nerdy Gem felt more tears bubbling up. She put the pencil crayon back, and started to cry harder than before.

She looked up upon hearing the sound of footsteps coupled with the sloshing sound of Lapis’ water wings. The blue Gem had come home earlier than Peridot thought she would, the tiny alien gasped and tried to get back to the hammock, but Lapis had seen her. “Peri?! What’s wrong, are you okay? You’re crying!” She asked, the blonde dove into her arms.

“Lapis I’m so sorry!” Peridot cried. “I’m not good, I’m a monster-” She was cut off quickly when the bluenette hugged her tightly, causing her mouth to go into her shoulder. Peridot sobbed and sniffled, letting her tears soak the older Gem’s shirt as Lapis rubbed her back.

Her voice was soft, soothing. “Peri, you’re not a bad Gem, and definitely not a monster. You said you’re sorry, okay? Come on Peridot, I need you, my happy buddy. Think about it, what good things have you done lately?”

The green Gem wiggled up to rest her chin on her best friend’s shoulder, her sobbing now lighter an a little hiccupy. “I-I, I helped Steven find a new bow for Aquamarine… A-and I found a place for Topaz and Aquamarine to live if they don’t want to be near the Barn…” She whimpered.

“Well, that’s just big stuff. What about little things? Like when Pumpkin fell in the smaller-than-average-lake and you dried her off? Or how about the fact that you give the best hugs?” She felt slim fingers brush her sides, making the little Gem squirm, Lapis knew she was ticklish. The blonde started giggling, and she could _hear_ the smirk in Lapis’ voice. “Something wrong Peridot? Are you ticklish?”

“Lapis that’s not fair!” The technician squealed, “Mercy!” She yelped, and Lapis stopped and held her as the green Gem panted. She couldn’t help being so ticklish, and Lapis always knew how to make a smile bloom on the younger Gem’s face.

“You’re a good Gem Peridot, a _great_ Gem actually. How about tomorrow, you do something nice for someone? Would that make you feel better?” She asked, and through her breathy giggling Peridot managed a ‘yes’.

“Guys!” Topaz’s voice suddenly close to them caused both to jump.

“We weren’t doing anything!” Peridot squeaked, her face a bright teal. Topaz laughed softly and Peridot could hear the confusion but also some amusement. Here she was, a lowly peridot enjoying being given a good snuggle from a lapis lazuli!

“Umm, okay? Anyway, Steven invited us all to his house for tomorrow. He wants us all to have a 'Crystal Gems Movie Night’. I’m going, Aquamarine is going because 'if it gets me out of a kindness class I’ll do it’ and… We wanted to know if you two wanted to go too.” The sweet fusion said with a brilliant smile. Right behind her was Aquamarine, a bitter look on the huffy Gem’s face.

“I look ridiculous.” She grumbled, and Peridot fought the urge to snicker. The tiny Gem’s wand had been snapped in two, and it was known that she didn’t like being without the thing in her hair. Steven had come around the Barn the other day, looking around for a ribbon for her. He hadn’t found one, but apparently he’d found it somewhere else! The teal gem now a somewhat old ribbon tied into a bow in her hair, tattered at the ends.

“Heh, that’s a good look for you. I’d call it… 'Humbled’.” Lapis said with a huge smirk.

Aquamarine growled and stomped her feet on the hardwood floor. “Not! One! Word! I only did it so Steven would get that dumb smile off his face.”

At this point all the other Gems smiled. “Aww,” Peridot cooed. “You know, according to earth culture, giving a gift to someone often means you want to be friends. The fact that you accepted? It means you want to be friends too!”

The tiny Gem’s face widened in horror, she fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands. “UGH! Nooooooo!”


	5. 72%

Aquamarine woke up with a start, Topaz had moved from her spot and the teal Gem had fallen to the grassy ground with a thump. “Topaz? What are you doing?” She asked, the large fusion was crouched near their project, she looked over at Aquamarine.

 

“Oh, sorry! I thought you were awake. I thought we should work on our project, can you help me?” She asked, the tiny Gem walked over to her to see what she had done so far.

 

The two of them had decided to create something Steven had called a ‘kite’. Topaz was using sturdy string to tie bendy, hard to break sticks together into a rectangular box shape. All they needed now was multicoloured fabrics to 'sew’ into the sticks (Pearl was going to help them, she liked this 'sewing’ and apparently the process could hurt a little).

 

“What do you need help with?” The winged Gem asked, and Topaz pointed to a single scrap of bright yellow fabric.

 

“It’s all we have, we need a lot more, especially if we want it to fly.” She explained. “You’re really fast, I was hoping you’d be able to grab more from the city.”

 

Aquamarine huffed and sighed. “I _guess_ I could help you. I don’t know how you wingless Gems manage to do things, flying is so much more convenient.”

 

Topaz gave a wry smile. “Alright, thanks.” She said, and before Aquamarine could take flight she added “Oh, Aquamarine? Watch out for tree branches!” She called, making the teal Gem squawk.

 

“NOT FUNNY!” She growled, and he fusion howled with laughter. She was thinking of Aquamarine’s first flight through one of this planet’s forests.

 

Safe to say the winged Gem had smacked nearly face first into a tree branch, it was one of the reasons she’d hated Earth at first. But now… She kind of liked it. Only a little though! The animals freaked her out, humans could be loud and she certainly wasn’t a fan of rain, even if Topaz, Peridot and Lapis liked it.

 

What she did like however, was the feeling of being useful. Only a few weeks ago Garnet had arrived at the Barn, telling them that a dangerous corrupted Gem had wanted too close to Beach City. They had all worked together that day.

 

Topaz had made sure the citizens didn’t get hurt by the monster, and that they stayed away. Lapis had made water walls to prevent its escape. Aquamarine herself had distracted it. Peridot had felt the final blow though, a sharp piece of metal straight through its back had poofed it. All the humans around had cheered for them, calling them Hero’s.

 

It felt… Good.

 

The tiny Gem took off flying through the sky, her wings beating quickly as she headed up to try and glide on a warm air current. It didn’t take long to reach Beach City, only… 20 minutes? Whatever.

 

“Hmm… What’s a place I know?” Aquamarine asked herself before a grin rose to her face. They tiny gem flew over to a very familiar place. The post office.

 

She flew in through the open window, being very quiet not to disturb the human known as “Jaime”, as she had the feeling he… Might not be as forgiving as the others. Some of them understood that capturing them had not only been her first mission, but that she didn’t know any better.

 

She snuck around quietly on the desk, looking for any scrap of fabric she could bring back. Unfortunately for Aquamarine, she wasn’t quite aware of her surroundings, and tripped over a stapler, falling onto the desk with a loud thump.

 

The human turned around, something Lapis called a 'broom’ was I’m his hands. “YOU!” He shrieked, “Get outta here, I have rehearsals in a few hours and I don’t have time to be in mortal peril again!”

 

He swatted at her with the broom, swinging it around her, not with the intent to hurt the tiny gem, but to drive her away. Aquamarine squawked and flew right back out of the window. Apparently… Humans could hold onto anger.

 

TIME SKIP

POV SHIFT- Steven Universe

 

“Peridot! Can you help me with this?” He called to his friend. Peridot was up on the counter looking through a cupboard diligently, she looked down towards him.

 

“What do you need help with?”

 

Steven handed her a bag of unpopped popcorn. “I need you to go to the microwave, put this bag in, and hit the button that says popcorn, can you do that?”

 

She grinned, and took the bag, inspecting it. “I suppose I could, I’m not surprised you need my assistance though, a gem of my intellect would be more than happy to assist with your technology.”

 

Steven had learned long ago that it was better to humor her than try to explain when it came to certain things. “Okay. Thank you.” The black haired boy chirped. He was so happy that all of his friends (except for Connie, she was recovering from a cold) wanted to see the Crying Breakfast Friends movie with him. Even if they didn’t understand it fully, they still wanted him to have fun and be happy.

 

Then, a realization hit him. Peridot was in charge of popcorn, Garnet was talking with Topaz and Aquamarine trying to explain the series to them and… Pearl, Amethyst and Lapis were outside with the projector…

 

Pearl, who tended to get frustrated easily, Amethyst, who may have had some understanding of technology but was more than happy to instigate, and Lapis, who had… Somewhat extreme reactions to things she either didn’t understand, or didn’t like.

 

“Oh no.” Steven murmured and ran out the door.

 

Pearl had her spear raised high in the air over her head. “I hate this thing!” She snapped. Amethyst sat beside it, trying to make sense of the wires. “We have the extension cord, why isn’t it turning on?!”

 

“Chill P! I’ve got this! Just gimme a minute…” The purple Gem shushed her. She plugged a wire into a different part of the projector. “Well, that’s the speaker. At least we’ll hear it!” She gave Pearl a hopeful look, but the taller Gem groaned. “Okay you’re right this is hopeless. Lapis! Your turn!”

 

Lapis huffed and looked at it. “I say we smash it and watch the movie inside, we’ll be closer to the fridge and I’m thirsty.” She deadpanned. Amethyst and Pearl gazed at each other, both gave the blue Gem a thumbs up. “Okay.” Lapis raised a large hand of water up out of the ocean. She waited for the ex-servant and the little quartz to get away before raising it over the device.

 

“Lapis, stop!” Steven cried, and just like that the hand disappeared back into the water. He rushed over to them, “Guys, it’s okay, I know what to do.”

 

Pearl sighed with relief. “Thank goodness, I can’t figure this thing out at all, I’ve tried everything I could think of. I’m sorry Steven.”

 

The young boy walked over to the wall, extension cords had been used to get the projector all the way out here so they could watch their movie on the smooth side of the cliff. Steven sighed a little and raised an eyebrow, Gems never failed to amuse him. He grabbed the long orange cord, took a few steps towards the plug on the wall, and plugged it in.

 

The half Gem smiled when he heard joyous cries from the three Gems nearby. “It works!” Amethyst cheered and started to laugh.

 

“OH THANK THE STARS!” Pearl shouted, she put her spear back in her gem and sat with Amethyst, who smiled and blushed at the close proximity.

 

“Wait, can I still have my juice boxes?” Oh Lapis.

 

And so, Steven and the rest of the Crystal Gems had set up the perfect outdoor movie night. The couch had been moved outside, as well as the table, a cooler filled with water, juice, and soda sat in front of the table for them all to reach over to. On the table was a variety of snacks. Chips, salsa, cheese dip, cookies, pizza sticks and of course, popcorn.

 

Peridot had been so proud of herself for making it right, and was staring at him now as the previews played. “You want me to try it?” Steven asked, and she nodded. The short boy chuckled and tossed a few pieces into his mouth, he had to admit, it was really good! Just like it tasted at the movie theatres. “It’s really good, thanks Peridot.”

 

The technician puffed out her chest in pride, “Wow, thanks!” She chirped. The tiny Gem sat herself on a blanket beside Lapis, the two of them sitting beside the table. Pearl, Amethyst and Aquamarine sat on the couch, Amethyst cuddling up to Pearl with the little winged Gem sitting on the arm of the couch. Steven himself sat in Garnet’s lap, the two of them in front of Topaz, all of them on their own blanket.

 

He watched happily as his family ate their snacks in their own ways. Amethyst would gobble down whatever she wanted, Pearl occasionally sniffing the food she thought smelled nice, Garnet eating popcorn and Topaz hesitantly trying out the cookies and pizza sticks. Peridot sadly couldn’t have any yet, but she would load a chip up with salsa and cheese dip for Lapis to lick up since she was furthest from the table, although the blue Gem was loving the juice boxes, and was currently holding one. Aquamarine also wasn’t able to eat, but was agreeable enough to pass down bowls if the others asked.

 

Everything was blissful… Until it wasn’t.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Peridot twitch. He knew the small Gem could be a bit restless, so Steven simply shrugged it off. A green light flickered, and now he looked over fully. Peridot had been twitching oddly, her eyes flickering a bright green, but now they glowed brilliantly as she leaped up onto the table and snarled at them.

 

He felt Garnet stiffen and pull him away as Peridot started knocking things over, throwing them too. Food went everywhere as the small Gem growled and tore things up with her teeth, destroying everything she could. “Peridot knock it off!” Pearl yelled at her, but she didn’t seem to hear.

 

The blonde jumped onto the couch and tore one of the cushions off, biting down into it, ripping out stuffing as she fell over the edge to go behind it.

 

Steven looked at his upset friends, Aquamarine trying to get cookie crumbs off of her, Lapis wiping spilled juice from the front of her skirt as she had squeezed her juice box from fright, Topaz brushing popcorn from Garnet’s hair, Pearl was covered in cheese dip. Amethyst has gotten salsa in her hair, but the purple Gem was now licking it off, she didn’t seem to care much.

 

POV SHIFT- Aquamarine

 

Well that was disgusting. There was crumbs and tiny bits of cheese all over her, what the hell was wrong with Peridot?!

 

The teal Gem saw her teammate lean over to look at the back of the couch. Peridot was still there, ripping and tearing away at the couch cushion. “Oh no…” She could hear Topaz whisper. She watched as the large fusion reached down quickly plucked a tiny bit of the hair from Peridot’s head. “Aquamarine, I need you to come with me. We’re going to our ship, now.”

 


	6. 70%

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments! I want to know what you guys think!

“Topaz! Wait up! You asked for me to come along so stop going so fast! Include me!” Aquamarine’s wings had to beat quickly to catch up with Topaz. She was so much faster than she looked, the golden fusion was sprinting at top speed up a hill that was near the Barn.

 

She did catch up though, still not clean from what had just happened. All she knew was that everyone had gone inside and Garnet was getting them all cleaned off. The tiny Gem wished she could have stayed for that. She now huffed bitterly. “Say something already! What’s going on?”

 

Topaz was unlocking their ship’s door, “Something’s wrong with Peridot.”

 

The teal Gem rolled her eyes. “Well duh, anyone could have seen-”

 

“No, I mean something is seriously wrong… With her gem.” The fusion said quietly. Aquamarine went silent. “Come on, we have to hurry.”

 

She nodded and the two of them entered their old ship. Topaz opened up a small panel, something rose out. It looked like half a sphere with a light shining from its flat surface. “What is this?” The tiny Gem asked.

 

“It’s a gem scanner, it’s an old thing, but they have to include it on every ship, safety regulation reasons. Anyway, it tells you all you need to know about a Gem.” The taller of the two explained. “Try it, all you need is a piece of you. Clothes, hair, anything. It can even do more than one Gem at a time.”

 

Aquamarine nodded and ripped off a small part of her skirt, Topaz doing the same with her sleeve. It didn’t matter, they could just reform them anyway. They both placed the scraps inside and waited as the scanner went back into the ship control panel.

Hers was the first to come up. The screen was pale blue as always, with the information about her in-between her energy level (represented by a long bar filled up fully, lines showing the count up to 100 going up by 10) and an even paler blue silhouette of the teal Gem herself.

 

“Aquamarine, Era 2, Facet 7T3Y Cut 9DN, Member of Blue Diamond’s court, gem charge at 100%.” The huge computer monitor read.

 

Oh, yes, gem charge. That number was always at 100%, meaning that your gem was fully ready for anything. Weapon summoning, shape-shifting, basically doing anything that involved your gem. Once it was at 100 it stayed there. The way a gem worked was almost like it had circuits, and was referred to as by many Gems. All Gems had to have working circuits.

 

Next of course was Topaz. The screen looked the same, only with two silhouettes, one for each component Gem.

 

“Fusion Detected. Topaz and Topaz, Era 1, Facet 6J2M Cut 4BK and Facet 6J2M Cut 4AL, Members of Yellow Diamond’s court, gem charge at 200%.”

 

Reading that, Topaz tilted her head. “200?”

 

Aquamarine shot her a deadpan look. “1 plus 1 is 2, do the math!”

 

Now the fusion simply nodded before she dropped the little bit of blonde fluff onto it, and the whole thing once again retracted into the control panel.

 

It took a little longer than hers and Topaz’s reading, but it came through. This time though, was different.

 

It had Peridot’s silhouette and information, but the screen was now flashing between blue and red, her energy level slowly going down.

 

“Peridot, Era 2, Facet 2F5L Cut 5XG, Member of Yellow Diamond’s court. WARNING: Gem charge 72%.”

 

Aquamarine stared in horror, 72?! Gems were supposed to be at 100, and why was it going down?! She looked over to Topaz, her friend was holding her hands over her mouth, her breathing was shaky and there were tears pricking in her eyes. Suddenly the golden fusion pounded her fists on the control panel with a loud bang.

 

“Why?! Why did they have to unplug her?! Those idiot police!” She sobbed, Aquamarine landed on the ground by her side and put a hand on her knee. “Oh I hoped this day would never come…”

 

“What’s wrong Topaz? What’s wrong with her?”

 

The tall fusion looked at her, tears running down her cheeks now. “I was there Aqua, I was there when Peridot was made. She’s the first one, but she was made illegally, with the strength of a Quartz soldier. The one who made her… They caught her as Peridot was charging, and they pulled the plug…”

 

Aquamarine hadn’t existed long enough to know certain things. “Well… Now what’s happening to her?” She asked timidly.

 

“With her gem losing energy, she’s going haywire!”

 

Her pale blue eyes widened with understanding, “That’s why she was freaking at the beach!”

 

Topaz nodded, “She can’t control it, it’s causing those glitches, which are making it worse.” She explained as they looked at the flashing screen.

 

The tiny Gem looked up at her. “A-and, if we don’t do something to stop it…?”

 

Topaz closed her eyes. “Peridot’s gem will continue to glitch out, getting worse and worse.” She whispered as the energy level was now at 70%.

 

“Peridot will shut down… For good…”

 

POV SHIFT- Peridot

 

She sat curled up, all by herself as the other Gems got cleaned off. They hadn’t been happy with her at all.

 

The blonde had woken up with odd fluff in her mouth, which she spit out quickly. She was laying in the sand, right behind the couch. The sounds of the movie had stopped, and all she could hear was the sounds of disgust from her friends. “Peridot!” Garnet gave an angry growl, the nerdy Gem stepped out from her spot.

 

All of her friends were covered in food, even Peridot herself was messy. “What were you doing?” Amethyst was giving her an odd annoyed look. The purple Gem was helping Pearl clean the cheese out of her hair.

 

“What is your problem?!” Pearl squawked at her. “If you didn’t like the movie that’s no reason to throw a fit.”

 

Peridot shook her head rapidly, “No! I liked it! I… I’m sorry.” She looked over at Lapis, whose gaze wasn’t meeting her eyes. “Lapis, I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to do anything-”

 

“Just… Stop.” Lapis said without looking at her, the other Gems were moving the couch back inside. Topaz and Aquamarine were strangely missing, so Garnet and Pearl moved the couch. “Let’s just clean up and go to bed.”

 

Each Gem had taken a shower, and were now in places they chose to presumably wind down for the night. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl all stood in the kitchen talking quietly. Steven had gone to bed with a promise that they would do this another night, he was already asleep. Lapis had made her own little bed on the other side of the room, right near the staircase, with some blanket. Peridot hugged her pillow tightly, wishing she could hug the blue Gem and say sorry.

 

“I’ve never seen her act like that before, it’s like she was happy to wreck stuff.” She heard Amethyst whisper.

 

Garnet’s voice was harder to hear, but she could hear the tall fusion. “It does seem like that, doesn’t it?”

 

Pearl sounded worried, or at least, more worried than her teammates. “Do you think she’s okay? I mean she’d never do that nowadays…”

 

Peridot had to fight the urge to move, she was pretending to sleep so the others would speak. “It sounds nuts but like… The old Peridot would’ve gladly pissed everyone off…”

 

She heard Pearl gasp. “Amethyst, you don’t actually think she’s-”

 

Garnet cut the ex-servant off. “Pearl, we have to consider the possibilities, Peridot is a Gem that needs stimulation, we know this. There could be a chance she… Might be bored with being good.”

 

“Garnet, she’s our friend, Amethyst why would you say that? Yes she was bad but… Do you really think she’s reverting back to it?”

 

Peridot could hear the fusion sigh. “My future vision isn’t showing anything at the moment, so it’s hard to say.” A few seconds went by before she continued. “Maybe she really does want to misbehave… I can’t say.”

 

The green Gem bit her lip as tears slipped down onto her pillow, she had brought her chart with her, and a lot of the green had been erased.

 

No, she wasn’t bad. She was a good Gem, she had to be, she did good things. She would prove it too. Tomorrow, the little Gem would do everything around the city to prove that she was a good Gem.


	7. 68%

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot and Lapis head to a local bakery to try and work, so Peridot can prove she's good. Surely nothing can go wrong, can it...?

Peridot grinned as she walked down the sidewalk, a little spring in her step as the blonde was in one of the best moods she'd been in a long time! She had woken up to an oddly pleasant smell, Pearl and Amethyst had been cooking together (well, Pearl cooked, Amethyst taste tested) to make Steven a special "breakfast". Aquamarine and Topaz were still nowhere to be seen, but they had sent a message through some communicators that they were just hanging out at the forest. No one questioned it, all Gems had odd habits.

"Peri!" A voice called to her, the blonde turned around and her smile got wider seeing Lapis fly over to her. "I heard from Garnet, that you want to do good things, to help out and show you're a good Gem. So, I wanted to go with you. I want to help you." She explained. "Also... You forgot your chart." 

The bluenette held out the piece of paper and the pencil crayon. Peridot folded it up neatly and tucked it into her uniform. "Thank you." She said quietly before looking up at the blue Gem. "You're not... Y'know, mad at me, are you?" 

Lapis gave a sheepish smile. "No, I'm not mad. I mean, it sucked that I got juice all over me, but that movie was boring, and what you did waaaass kinda funny. Especially Pearl's face when she got stuff all over her, and then when Amethyst offered to clean her!" The two started to laugh, Lapis snorted making Peridot blush, it was cute when she did that.

The blonde took another paper out of her uniform. A tourist's map of the city, which she had marked with a green crayon to show all the spots she thought some humans could use some help. A bakery needed some help in the kitchen, and the local grocery store could probably do with some help of stacking things, and she could help with that, couldn't she? She was tall enough to!

Ah, she remembered this place. Back during the 'harvest' they had wanted to pick up a big wedding cake to share with everyone, hoping to get on Andy's good side so they could keep their home. It had taken a little while to get the cake done, and the nerdy Gem chuckled at the memory of all of them goofing around in the place. There were some simple 'wedding dresses' in the back, in case humans wanted silly pictures with a cake.

She remembered the huge dress she had put on, tripping over it and landing flat on her face, her friends giggling as she huffed. Apparently there HAD been a dress for… Shorter people…. And Amethyst had taken it. The purple Gem had been showing off to Pearl, twirling and jumping around in it. Pearl had been laughing and blushing, wearing a 'tuxedo' that seemed to fit her well. 

Garnet had been the odd one of the bunch, having taken a fancy black dress shirt and a white skirt covered in those sequin thingies, smiling happily with her hands folded together. 

But there on the floor, Peridot's breath hitched in her throat upon seeing Lapis step out of the tiny room she had changed in. Another tuxedo, a loose tie around her neck, her hair messy too. She gently took Peridot's hand and helped her up. “Peridot, are you okay?” She asked, and with dark teal cheeks the younger of the two nodded, her breathing shaky as she stared at, in her opinion, the most beautiful Gem in the galaxy.

“Y-yep.” Peridot stuttered. “Perfect.”

At that moment, Amethyst started to snicker. “What's the matter P-dot, you look like you're about to pass out!” She giggled until Pearl gently scolded her, although the thin Gem herself had a sly grin. Lapis didn't seem to understand though, she just gave a confused chuckle as she sat beside the green Gem.

Peridot really hoped Lapis thought of her the same way.

Anyways, back to the current task at hand. The local bakery. She stepped inside and waved to the woman at the front, “Hello dear, what can I do for you?”

Peridot stepped up to the counter, “Hello, I came to help out with ‘baking’! I heard you needed help, and I know how to do things since my friend showed me how.” She explained, it was true that Pearl had taught her things about baking, the tall Gem had been wanting to make a cake for Amethyst, and wanted Peridot’s hep so things would go quicker. As it turned out, just like gardening, building things, and making meep-morps, Peridot was very good at this too.

The woman at the counter grinned. “Why, thank you! Right this way now.” She waved the over and stepped into the kitchen, the two Gems following close behind. “You two can just work with the cupcakes that are on the back table, all the ingredients are set up, but one of the chefs got sick, I had to send him home.”

Peridot had very little knowledge of human sickness, but she nodded as if she knew what this human meant. “I see. Will no need to worry, you have two brilliant minds here to fix everything. Right Lapis?”

“Yup.”

After the blue Gem’s simple response, the woman laughed. “Oh my, you two certainly are an odd couple!” She told them before adding, “Good luck! Have fun!”

Peridot loved this, the ‘whisk’ was fun for her to use, as Lapis had put her in charge of stirring. The Ocean gem was happy pouring ingredients into the bowls and cups. The little Gem herself loved to crack the eggs, Steven and Pearl had taught her how to do it without getting any shell into the ‘batter’.

She smiled at her partner as her small hands glided over to the cupcake tin. Peridot had seen Steven do this enough times to know what to do. All she had to do was carefully pour the sweet-smelling brown mixture into the paper cups that would hold the treats. Easy as… Easy… As…

“Peridot, Facet 2F5L, Cut 5XG. That is your name, do you understand?” A Gem, tall and proud, stood over her. Peridot had been dragged away from her Creator and brought to a strange place. They had taken her out of her pod and dumped her out onto the floor. She’d growled at them, snarled at them and tried to press on the glass to break it so she could attack.

They had left her in her pod for a while, and the young Gem calmed down quite a bit. She could speak now, and the urge to attack had stopped.

The Gem before her now was called a Nephrite. Green with fluffy white hair and a shimmering black and green gem on her stomach. She didn’t seem to like Peridot very much, as she stared down her nose at the tiny Gem, who wanted to curl up into a ball to hide away from all the prying eyes around her, safe behind glass taking notes on who, no, WHAT she was.

She hated it, she hated being watched and poked and prodded at, she wanted to feel safe, she wanted to be like some of the Gems here, small but upgraded. They had their own lives, things that belonged to them, they had made themselves big using technology. Big Gems were powerful, and it seemed little Gems like her were made to be hurt.

The Nephrite clicked her tongue in disappointment. “Subject appears to be unresponsive, most likely due to shock from recent events. Commencing memory wipe in 3...” She held out some long cord that wrapped itself around Peridot’s neck, holding her in place while the Nephrite held a long stick that shone in a bright blue and white light up to Peridot’s gem. “2...” The light grew brighter, engulfing Peridot’s vision in a burst of blue and white.

“1...”

“PERIDOT STOP!”

She looked around, the kitchen was a mess with batter everywhere, eggs smashed all over, and a very frightened and messy Lapis standing nearby, her eyes filled with horror. 

The blonde Gem felt something in her hands. The spoon she had been using at one point too stir was clutched tightly, covered in ingredients. She dropped it onto the table, coming to a sudden realization that she was standing on it now. “I… I don’t know what happened, I’m sorry, I got… Scared.”

Lapis glared at her. “Scared? Is that what you call ‘trying to hit Lapis with stuff’?” 

Fear struck through her. Why was this happening? She would never do something like this! “I, I-I didn’t mean to! I’m sorry!”

The Ocean Gem sighed and growled. “Whatever. We’re being kicked out anyways, come on.”

The two walked in silence, Lapis using her water wings to wash herself off and Peridot wishing she could throw herself gem-first off a cliff. She took her chart out, and erased more of the green. Lapis had been wrong that night, Peridot WAS a bad Gem...


End file.
